Lyrics: The Beautiful Ones (feat. Dru Hill)

“The Beautiful Ones,” originally penned and performed by Prince on his 1984 Purple Rain album, stands as a poignant ballad exploring themes of unrequited love and longing. In 1997, Mariah Carey, alongside R&B group Dru Hill, offered her rendition of this classic on her Butterfly album. Carey has expressed deep admiration for the song, stating it as her favorite Prince track. This collaboration not only pays homage to Prince’s original but also infuses it with a fresh R&B flair, highlighting the enduring impact of lyrics ‘The Beautiful Ones’ across different musical eras.

The Beautiful Ones

Baby, baby, baby
What’s it gonna be?
Oh, baby, baby, baby, yeah yeah
Is it him or is it me?
Oh, don’t make me waste my time
Don’t make me lose my mind baby, yeah

Baby, baby, baby
Can’t you stay with me tonight?
Oh, baby, baby, baby
Come, on, don’t my kisses please you right?
You were so hard to find
The beautiful ones, they hurt you every time

Paint a perfect picture
And bring to life a vision in one’s mind

The beautiful ones
(The beautiful ones)
Always smash the picture
Always every time

If I told you, baby
That I was in love with you
Oh, baby, baby, baby
If we got married (Got married)
Would that be cool?
You make me so confused
The beautiful ones
You always seem to lose, baby

Baby, baby (Yes baby, yes, baby)
See the beautiful ones
(The beautiful ones)
See the beautiful ones
(The beautiful ones)
(Do you all hear?)
(Do you all mean?)
‘Cause I want you
Yes, I mean, I want you
Oh, yeah, baby
I want you, oh yeah
(I want you)
(Alright)
You may not know where I’m going, baby
I may not know, said I may not know
Said you may not know
But I mean what I mean
But one thing, one thing is certain, baby
I know what I want
And that’s to please you, baby, to please you, baby
The one thing is I want you I want you
I need you oh so bad, so bad
I want you

Why, oh, why?
Why, oh, why?
Why, oh, why?
Baby, why, oh, baby, baby, baby
The beautiful ones
You wanna love me, love me
Or you wanna throw me away
I gotta know
I gotta know, baby
Gotta know, baby, baby, baby
Baby, baby, baby
I need you
Baby, baby, baby
I want you
Tell me why
The beautiful ones
They hurt you every time

Written by: Prince